A majority of American retail workers (57 percent) report feeling unsafe going into the peak holiday shopping season, according to Motorola Solutions’ second annual U.S. Retail Worker Safety Report.

This comes as many of the 1,000+ retail managers and staff surveyed reported experiencing increases in crime in the last year, and more than half reported concerns about hostile customer interactions and store theft.

The independent market research firm Researchscape conducted the U.S. survey in September 2024 to gauge retail workers’ perspectives about safety and workplace security measures.

The most common incidents reported were petty theft (66 percent), grab and runs (48 percent) and hostile customer interactions (46 percent). One in ten also said they have experienced physical attacks from customers.

Over 65 percent of retail workers said they expect to be understaffed this holiday season and this impacts how safe they feel going into peak shopping.

Two out of three respondents (68 percent) who expect their stores to be understaffed said they don’t feel safe and 50 percent said they are concerned for the safety of their shoppers.

More than 20 percent of those surveyed said public safety personnel such as police, EMS and fire are being called to their stores at least once per week, an increase of 16 percent over 2023.

Emergency personnel are called to stores 2-3 times per month for 17 percent of respondents.

The results show that security technologies – systems that can detect weapons, lock doors and allow store security officers to view real-time video of unfolding incidents – make people feel safer at work.

Respondents pointed to access control systems (35 percent), license plate readers (32 percent), panic buttons (32 percent) and body cameras (20 percent) as measures that make them feel safer.

Few retail workers reported having those security measures in place.

“As we approach peak shopping season, it’s clear that the retail industry continues to grapple with theft and, at times, even more violent crimes,” said Sharon Hong, vice president of Ecosystem Solutions at Motorola Solutions. “Retail workers and managers surveyed believe technology can play a role in helping to curb the issue, from deterring theft to de-escalating hostile customer interactions. Technology can also simultaneously notify everyone, including 9-1-1, of an emergency, quickly and efficiently connecting those in need with those that can help.”

Of those surveyed, 12 percent said they have access control systems, 9 percent have panic buttons, 7 percent have license plate readers and 6 percent are using body cameras.

Almost half of respondents said body cameras would help them feel safer, and a majority said the technology can help stores to better understand incidents (66 percent) and support investigations (66 percent).

Additionally, 42 percent said body cameras can be a deterrent to aggressive or criminal behavior in stores.

Similar independent surveys were conducted in the U.K. and in Australia and New Zealand, countries also dealing with high retail crime rates.

“Several industry studies have shown that retail crime is evolving – it has become more organized, coordinated and, importantly, more violent,” said Cory Lowe, Ph.D., director of research at the Loss Prevention Research Council. “Violence is a key concern among nearly every loss prevention leader we work with, and the changing nature of retail crime is driving them to search for innovative solutions that can help keep people safe. Safety is the most fundamental thing any business must provide their employees and customers – if they can’t keep people safe, they can’t keep them coming back to work or shop.”